Tyra Banks applauds Vogue for its new model policy

Tyra Banks has applauded Vogue magazine for banning the use of models under the age of 16, insisting the new policy will have a profound affect on the industry.

Last week, Vogue editors across the world adopted a new policy to protect the health of models by banning young teens and those suspected of having an eating disorder.

While there was some criticism about the diminishing of jobs, the ruling was largely well received in an industry that has long been accused of setting an unrealistic standard of beauty for young women.

And supermodel Banks, who got her start at the tender age of 15, has heaped praise upon Vogue executives, admitting many teens were destroying their bodies just for the chance to land a feature in the iconic publication.

She tells CNN, “I think it’s amazing that they’re (editors) doing it because they do not have to. There is nothing legal saying that Vogue had to make this decision. This is something that they are doing on their own. When I heard about it. … I’m like, ‘Oh my god this is a moment to celebrate.’ … I live for this, for expanding the definition of beauty, for not having a stereotype and such a one physicality that we all have to live up to, so I applaud Vogue. And this is not just American Vogue, this is in 19 countries, this is every single Vogue on the entire globe so that’s pretty amazing.”

And the “America’s Next Top Model” host is hopeful the change will inspire others to follow suit.

She adds, “I think it’s the beginning of creating almost a guild, or a union for models. Models, we don’t have that, actors have that. I’ve done movies and TV shows with children and they are on the stage for a certain amount of hours then they have to leave the stage, legally, and rest. Work some more, leave that stage again, legally, and go to school in a private, sequestered area. The modeling industry does not have that, and I think that Vogue is setting an example for that to one day be.”